[s-cars] Seeking advice on '94 S4 purchase

[Sean Douglas]

Turbo failure is not that common (maybe some long time listers can add
to this), but I haven't heard or read this failure. A new turbo is ~$1k,
not a lot compared to other parts. The big ticket is the transmission
which can be know to fail, here is a write up from s-cars.org:

6. The drive line: A survey of the S-Car Registry has revealed that a
fair number of early S cars (1992-1994) exhibited transmission failure
brought on by worn pinion bearings. The number one symptom of this is a
car that makes a whining noise while rolling. The noise will be there at
any rpm and will change pitch with your speed. It will occur whether the
clutch is in or out. In my opinion, this is the one weak link in an
otherwise bulletproof car. If the car you're looking at does have noise
coming from the drive line, be aware that replacement runs between
$3,000 to $8,000 dollars depending upon who does the work! If the car
makes the noise it better be priced accordingly.  Don't be afraid to
walk away if you don't have a good independent mechanic who can handle
the transmission swap. With the transmission warnings aside, most cars
at this point have had the issue addressed.  I don't hear of many
tranmission failures any more aside from those that get 'well used' in
highly tuned cars.  ;-) If the driveline itself has a lot of slop or
play in it (forward/backward slack when on or off throttle) you may be
looking at worn engine or tranny mounts or bad CV joints on the drive
shaft. The center bearing on the drive shaft can also wear out over
time.

As you mention, t-belt is crucial and ditto the water pump. You don't
want this to break on 20v motor and the repair can be very expensive.

Good luck.

Sean

Sean Douglas
1997 Audi S6 - MTM Stage 1+
1990 Audi 90Q20V


> -----Original Message-----
> From: s-car-list-admin at audifans.com
> [mailto:s-car-list-admin at audifans.com] On Behalf Of Kevin Day
> Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2003 8:21 AM
> To: s-car-list at audifans.com
> Subject: [s-cars] Seeking advice on '94 S4 purchase
>
>
> Hello all,
>
> This list seems like a great resource.  Hope you don't mind a
> few questions from a prospective owner.
>
> I'm going to look at a '94 S4 this weekend.  I don't know
> much about the condition at this point, but it's got rather
> high mileage (~170K). Other than the usual (records, t-belt,
> etc.) is there anything specific that I should watch out for?
>
> I understand that the turbo has an auxillary cooler that runs
> after the car shuts down, which should be good for turbo
> life, but this might be my first turbo and I'm a little wary.
>  If one had to be replaced, how traumatic would the price tag
> be?  (I see that Porsche has some applications for the same
> unit.  That's... not really all that encouraging :)  Any
> (other?) high-ticket repairs that I should look out for?
>
> Anyway, any advice, pointers, etc. would be appreciated.  Thanks.
>
> -Kevin
>
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